Roof construction



N 1969 K. N. l. JOHANSSON ROOF CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 2, 1967 United States Patent 3,478,474 ROOF CONSTRUCTION Karl N. Ingvar Johansson, Oregrundsgatan '14, Stockholm, Sweden Filed Oct. 2, 1967, Ser. No. 672,143 Claims priority, application Sweden, Dec. 7, 1966, Int. Cl. E04b 7/04; E04d 13/06 16,798/66 US. (:1. 52-11 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A roof structure wherein a bend resistant roof covering is supported between a ridge beam member and an eave structure at the outer edge of the floor structure of the roof, the roof covering is also supported by one or more transverse beam members located between the ridge beam and the cave structure, the ridge and intermediate beams are in turn supported by tubular sheet metal posts resting on the floor structure of the roof, the eave structure comprises a number of upright plates which present a horizontal base edge, side edges and an upper edge, having the same angle of slope as that of the roof proper, provision is also made for the mounting of a guttering in the eave structure, and all structural elements of the roof structure, including the beams, eave structure, tubular posts and guttering, are manufactured from sheet metal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a roof construction comprising a bend resistant roof covering between a ridge beam and the outer edge of a roof flooring and supported by at least one intermediate transverse beam.

Hitherto, the most common supporting portion of a roof has been the rafters.

In recent years development has inclined towards roofs which slope slightly, e.g. l20. Roof trusses have thus become more simple in design and the sloping rafters are supported direct against the roof flooring, by means of vertical wooden posts.

In view of the ever increasing working costs at the building site efforts have been directed to an extensive standardization regarding the use of prefabricated building elements. However, these efforts have not included the trusses, which are often cut and worked on the site, resulting in time consuming work which increases the total costs and reduces the advantages obtained by specialized and price reducing building methods.

Roof structures which include bend resistant roof coverings of corrugated sheet have long been used for sheds, huts and the simpler type of warehouses, where the requirements on heat insulation are negligible, the corrugated sheet being attached directly to the trusses or transverse beams.

The present invention relates to a roof structure including a bend resistant roof covering, and is particularly intended for the roofs of houses.

In the roof structure according to the invention the roof covering at the outer edge of the roof is preferably secured to an eave structure attached to the outer edge of the roof flooring and projecting partly beyond the same, the eave structure comprising a number of upright trapezium-shaped plates presenting a horizontal base edge, side edges and an upper edge which presents the same slope as the slope of the roof and which are arranged parallel to one another and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ridge beam; the said plates being held together outside the facade of the building by a longitudinally extending facade plate of sheet metal which completes the eave structure in front of the facade of 3,478,474 Patented Nov. 18, 1969 the building. The vertical sheets forming part of the eave structure are held together at the upper edge thereof by a covering plate which forms the attachment for a roof covering of shaped sheet material, preferably corrugated, hot galvanized sheet resistant to bending, wherein the corrugations may be in the shape of a sine-wave or an edge-wave.

The portions of the upright plates of the eave structure which project beyond the house facade are preferably provided with recesses, aligned rectilinearly relative to one another, for receiving a guttering.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows details of the claimed roof construction.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the roof construction according to the invention. FIGURES 2 and 3 show two sheet-metal beam sections and FIGURE 4 an eave structure.

Shown in FIGURE 1 is a bend resistant roof covering 1 of corrugated sheet metal presenting an edge-wave shape and erected on a ridge beam 2 and a transverse beam 3, above a flooring structure. The ridge and transverse beams are comprised of a bent sheet-metal section, the cross section of which is in the shape of an inverse U, whereby the upwardly directed base portion of the U, which forms the web of the beam, is straight instead of rounded and has the same slope as the roof. A section presenting the design shown in FIGURE 2 is used as a ridge beam, the beam web presenting two inclined surfaces 4, 5. The same section can also be used as a transverse beam, although in the present instance it has been found more suitable to use a section according to FIGURE 3 for this purpose, to provide a larger contact surface, the beam web in this instance having one single inclined surface 6. The width between the flanges of the sheet-metal beam is preferably approximately mm. The flanges 7 of the sheet-metal beam are stiffened by connecting the same together at their bottom edges by means of welded binder plates 8, spaced apart at a distance of, e.g. 500 mm., in the longitudinal direction of the beam. The sheet-metal section beams are preferably made of 1.5 mm. heat galvanized sheet-metal. The beams are supported above the flooring structure by means of tubular posts 9, arranged in spaced relationship and which, for instance, are made of heat galvanized 100 mm. sheet metal tubing, having a wall thickness of 0.7 mm. When using the sheet material described the number of transverse beams between the ridge beam and the base of the roof is selected so that the span between the array does not preferably exceed 4 m., and the spacing of the tubular posts, in the longitudinal direction of the sheet-metal section beams, does not preferably exceed 3 In. When built according to these specifications the roof structure according to the invention has been calculated to withstand a maximum load of 100 kg./m. which corresponds to the practical requirements placed upon a roof. The tubular posts 9 are secured in the beam in a suitable manner, e.g., by spot welding or by self-threading screws. Attachment of the tubular post to the floor structure of the roof is effected preferably by means of a socket member 10, having substantially the same internal diameter as the external diameter of the tubular post (including the necessary clearance). The socket member 10 is provided with a welded bottom plate which is attached to the floor structure of the roof, e.g. by means of exploding rivets or a central expander bolt.

The eave structure shown in FIGURE 4 comprises a number of upright trapezium plates 11 presenting a horizontal base edge, side edges and an upper edge of the same slope as the slope of-the roof, and which are arranged mutually parallel to one another at a distance of approximately 1 meter apart and extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the ridge beam. These sheets are held together outside the facade of the building, at the bottom and at the front, by longitudinally extending front plates 12, 13 which complete the eave structure in front of the facade of the building. The portions of the parallel upright plates of the cave structure which project beyond the base of the roof are provided with recesses for receiving a guttering 14 presenting vertically extending side walls the inner wall of which is bent inwardly and upwardly in the direction of the ridge beam and secured to the top of the upper edges of the upright plates 11, and the outer wall of which is bent outwardly and folded to lie contiguous with one of said vertical front plates 13 at the upper edge thereof. The eave structure is suitably made of hot galvanized sheet metal 1.5 mm. thick.

The roof structure according to the invention offers a number of advantages over conventional roof structures. Among the most important advantages are:

(1) Roof trusses and rafters are no longer necessary.

(2) The various elements of the roof structure, the eave structure, the sheet-metal beams and the tubular posts can be manufactured in determined standard lengths e.g. the eave structure and the sheet-metal beams in lengths of up to 8 m., and the tubular posts in lengths which correspond of width of the building and the slope of the roof.

(3) The various parts of the roof are easily transported to the building site.

(4) A most important advantage is the simple method 'of assembly, which requires much less expertise than when building conventional wooden roofs.

(5) The construction has been found to be sufiiciently resistant to bending with a wide safety margin and, considering the properties of hot galvanized plate when used in internal structures, the roof construction according to the invention is estimated to have a life of from to 50 years.

(6) The total costs of the roof construction according to the invention are considerably lower than those of conventional roof constructions.

The invention is not restricted to the sheet-metal material defined or the given dimensions, and can in other respects be varied arbitrarily within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A roof structure comprising a bend-resistant roof covering made of corrugated material and supported between a ridge beam and at least one outer edge of a horizontal flat structure extending between the outer edges of the roof, said roof covering being supported also on at least one intermediate transverse beam extending in parallel relationship to said ridge beam, said beams comprising sheet-metal sections the cross-section of which is substantially in the form of an inverted U having an upper web and two parallel flanges extending downwards therefrom, the upper web of each beam being rectilinear and having the same angle of inclination as that of the roof, and said flanges being connected with each other at the bottom edges by means of binder plates attached in spaced relationship in the longitudinal direction of said sheetmetal sections, said sheet-metal sections being supported above said horizontal fiat structure by means of an array of tubular posts arranged in spaced relationship with respect to one another.

2. The roof structure according to claim 1, wherein the upper web of said sheet-metal section has a single sloping fiat surface having the same angle of inclination as that of the roof.

3. The roof structure according to claim 1, wherein the upper web of said sheet-metal section has two sloping flat surfaces forming'together an inverted V in crosssection, the the surfaces of which have the same angle of inclination as that of the roof.

4. The roof structure according to claim 1, wherein the external diameter of said tubular posts is substantially the same as the internal width between the flanges of said sheet-metal beam.

5. The roof structure according to claim 1, wherein said sheet-metal beams are made of hot-galvanized sheetmetal having a thickness of 1.5 mm.

6. The roof structure according to claim 1, wherein said sheet-metal beams are made of hot-galvanized sheet metal having a thickness of 1.5 mm, and wherein the in ternal width between the flanges of said sheet-metal beam is approximately mm. and wherein said tubular posts are made of hot-galvanized sheet metal tubing of approximately 100 mm. in diameter and a wall thickness of ap proximately 0.7 mm.

7. The roof structure according to claim 1, wherein the number of intermediate transverse beams between the ridge beam and the outer edge of the roof are so chosen that the span between the array does not exceed 4 meters.

8. The roof structure according to claim 1, wherein the spacing of the tubular posts in the longitudinal direction of the sheet-metal section beams does not exceed 3 meters.

9. The roof structure according to claim 1, wherein said roof covering at the outer edge of the roof is attached to an eave structure partly projecting beyond the outer edge of the horizontal flat structure and attached to said edge, said eave structure comprising a number of vertical plates presenting a horizontal base edge, side edges and a top edge having the same angle of inclination as that of the roof, said plates being arranged mutually parallel to one another and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ridge beam and being held together outside the facade of the building by longitudinally extending front plates which complete the eave structure in front of the facade of the building.

10. The roof structure according to claim 9, wherein the portions of the mutually parallel upright plates of the cave structure, which extend beyond the outer edge of the roof are provided with recesses in which is arranged a guttering presenting vertically extending side walls the inner wall of which is bent inwardly and upwardly towards the ridge beam and secured to the top of the upper edges of the upright plates, and the outer wall of which is bent outwardly and folded together with one of said vertical front plates at the upper edge thereof.

11. The roof structure according to claim 9, wherein the spacing of said vertical plates of said eave structure is approximately 1 meter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,158,378 10/1915 Fullerton et al 52731 X 1,656,810 1/1928 Arnstein 52-73l X FOREIGN PATENTS 219,205 l1/ 1958 Australia. 863,582 4/1941 France.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner SAM D. GURKE III, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 52-90, 97, 731 

